Areas of Expertise

Counselling

You may be seeking counselling about a specific issue or it could be that you have several aspects of your life that you are looking to explore.

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I have experience of working with:

· Anxiety and depression

· Low self-esteem

· Self harm

· Lacking a sense of self and invidividuality

· Difficulties in personal relationships

· Difficulties in professional relationships

· Sense of loss and unfulfillment

· Grief and bereavement

· Lacking purpose

· Feeling stuck and unable to move forward

· Coming out of alcohol/substance abuse

· Sexuality and issues related to identifying as LGBTQ

Men and Mental Health - Let's talk about it

If you are a man who is experiencing difficulties due to mental health issues and would like to talk to another man about what you are going through, please get in touch. For more information look at the Men and Mental Health section on this website.

Wellbeing MOT

In addition to counselling, I also offer a Wellbeing MOT with the purpose of exploring different aspects to wellbeing; so that you can make informed decisions about your life that will lead to an improved sense of wellbeing and mental health.

These sessions are more structured and target-driven and focus on five areas of wellbeing:

·Connecting with others

·Physical activity and making healthy choices

·Taking time-out

·Continuous learning

·What it means to give

We will also explore the issue of stress and how this impacts our sense of wellbeing.

These sessions involve talking about barriers to wellbeing and exploring practical ways that these barriers can be overcome.

If you feel that your wellbeing needs a bit of focus and counselling may not be what you are needing, then contact me about signing-up for a Wellbeing MOT.

My Approach

Counselling comes in different shapes and forms, often referred to as modalities. I trained in the Gestalt approach and hope that this brief explanation will help you understand what you might experience when working with me.

The best way I can explain what Gestalt is, is that it is a way of exploring your here and now experience in the context of the issue you are bringing to the counselling session. Whilst this may be something to do with a past experience; what I am curious about as a Gestalt counsellor is finding-out what it is like for you to explore that issue, with me, in the present moment.

Gestalt is relational, so as a gestalt counsellor, I would play an active role in the counselling sessions. This may be in the form of providing feedback about what I experience as an active listener; it may be to ask you to say more and focus on a particular aspect of what has been shared in order to go into more depth; it could even be to challenge you, so you can be certain about something that has been shared.

This way of working can be quite creative and dynamic and differs from other forms of humanistic therapy where the counsellor can have a more passive involvement/role.

What is crucial to Gestalt counselling and all forms of talking therapy is the importance of you-the client and your experience. Nothing is ever imposed on you during the counselling sessions and you will never be made to talk about or do anything you do not agree to.

Working in this way – with a focus in the here and now experience - offers an approach to counselling that can be rewarding and liberating. A short explanation, such as this, does not do it justice – therefore if you would like to know more and arrange an initial consultation to see if we could work together, please contact me